The obscene gesture -- a sign that Manziel lost his cool during the game -- was one factor in Manziel losing the starting job to Brian Hoyer.

"It's extremely disappointing,'' said coach Mike Pettine. "We talk about 'Play like a Brown.' We want our guys to act like a Brown. We want to be a first-class organization. We have hundreds, thousands of kids have come to our training camp practices, and look up to our players.

"That type of behavior is unacceptable. It's something that's part of football that you have to maintain your poise and your composure, especially at that position, and he should know better than anyone that all eyes are on him. It's something that I know will be addressed by the league, and it will be addressed by us internally."

After the game, Pettine said, "It does not sit well. I was informed of it after the game. It's disappointing, because what we talk about is being poised and being focused, that you have to be able to maintain your poise. That's a big part of all football players, especially the quarterback. We have to keep our composure. That's something we'll obviously address.''

Manziel acknowledged it was a mistake.

"I just need to let it slide off my back and go to the next play,'' he said. "I felt like I did a good job of holding my composure throughout the night and you have a lapse of judgment and slip up."

Manziel winced when informed by a member of the Browns PR staff that the gesture was captured by the ESPN cameras.

"I get words exchanged with me throughout the entirety of the game, every game, week after week,'' he said. "I should've been smarter. It was a Monday Night Football game. The cameras were probably solidly on me, so I just need to be smarter about that."

What provoked it?

"There's always words exchanged on the football field,'' he said.

He said he doesn't immediately kick himself when he loses his cool, and that it's not a distraction when it happens. He went on to throw a touchdown pass at the end of that 16-play drive.

"It's not a distraction at all,'' he said. "It's not a big deal to me. I think I need to hold my composure better."

Asked if he thought the bird or being late to a team meeting last Monday might prevent him from winning the job, he said, "No, no, no, no."

Redskins linebacker Brian Orakpo told ESPN he thought the gesture was hilarious and that the entire Redskins bench was laughing.

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